Bengaluru, Aug 15 (IANS): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated on Thursday that, “We have attained freedom by unitedly fighting, leaving behind caste and creed. Together we have to retain this freedom.”

He also cautioned that if the nation fails to remain united it would witness disturbing developments like the ones happening in neighbouring countries.

Delivering his speech on India’s 78th Independence Day in Bengaluru, CM Siddaramaiah stated, “Dr BR Ambedkar who gave us the Constitution and late PM Jawaharlal Nehru, laid a strong foundation for Modern India based on scientific temperament and Secularism.

“We must be conscious about the fact that failing this, we will end up witnessing disturbing developments like the ones happening in our neighbouring countries.”

He added, “As mentioned by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu in his poem, ‘Let us shed caste, religious, and linguistic differences, respect the diversity of our country, and progress on the path of development by upholding integrity.’ We must work to ensure that political freedom is preserved by providing social and economic freedom to all. Let us all work together to achieve this goal and build a nation with a healthy, prosperous, and equitable society.”

“We must pay true tributes to freedom fighters by adhering to their dreams of an Independent India. We must remember the contributions of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and his revolutionary friends who were martyred for the sake of the country,” CM Siddaramaiah appealed.

“Our Constitution is the shield of the dynamic, responsive democracy of the country. Babasaheb Ambedkar had forewarned about the situations that may prevent our democracy from being lively and being a substantive part of our lives. First, we must keep away divisive forces that play politics based on caste and creed.

“Second, we must keep people with a mindset to subvert constitutional institutions and values away from power and finally be warned that political democracy cannot survive without social democracy,” he stated.

“The Constitution clearly outlines the relationship between the Centre and the states within our federal system,” he said.

“While the states are responsible for implementing welfare programmes, it is the Centre's duty to provide the necessary resources to support these efforts,” CM Siddaramaiah stressed.

CM Siddaramaiah professed, “In recent years, the central government has been deviating from this principle, leading to discrimination in the allocation of funds to states. By ignoring constitutional principles, there is a tendency to delay the financial share due to the states, which is not in the interest of the people.”

“Unfortunately, states are compelled to seek legal recourse to obtain their rightful share from the Centre. On this occasion I urge the central government to understand the fact that the nation can develop only if states are developed and to release a fair amount of grants to states for development,” he asserted.